13 Winter 2025 Today, people often think that the shock felt by the German Jews in 1933 can be explained by the fact that Hitler seized power. Now, as far as I and those of my generation are concerned, I can say that this is a strange misunderstanding… That the Nazis are our enemies — my goodness, we didn’t need Hitler’s seizure of power to understand that! ... The problem was not what our enemies were doing, but what our friends were doing... This bitter complaint about that past failure — about the passive tolerance of the unthinkable — brings home to us that “Never again!” can only mean: Never again will there be silence, but rather speaking the truth about the perpetrators! Never again will there be a lack of courage, but rather robust resistance! Never again will there be solidarity without also taking action! And for this reason, I would like to thank you, Professor Ganor and the ICT most sincerely for inviting me to Israel – not just as the Director General of a German security agency and a reliable partner of Israeli services, but also because of my own personal relationship with your country, I highly appreciate the opportunity, on this anniversary, both to show the deep bond I feel and also to clearly say what needs to be said: Israel was not just attacked out of the blue but was the victim of brutal barbarity! Israel has every right to defend itself! In this justified defense against antisemitism and terrorism, Germany stands firmly by the side of the Israeli people! October 7 and its Impact on the Security Situation in Germany I would like to briefly explain now that this solidarity is expressed by us in deeds, while also serving the protection of German security interests. There is no doubt that antisemitism is a broad path leading to almost all forms of extremism, and, thus, it is a powerful source of danger to our democracy. Of course, transnational Islamist terrorism also poses a threat to German security. Naturally, the terrorist attacks of Hamas have also had a noticeable effect on the security situation in Germany. Antisemitism – the “Seismograph” of the Crisis in the Middle East Immediately after October 7, there were demonstrations all over Germany, during which both Islamist extremist and secular extremist groups exploited these incidents for their own agitation. It was hardly surprising — but all the more shameful — that, in this situation, the upsurge in antisemitism was once more a “crisis seismograph”! In all of Germany, there was a massive increase in antisemitic criminal offenses. More than 5,000 antisemitic offenses were registered during 2023, which was an “alltime high” since the recording of such offenses began in 2001. At first glance, it seems surprising that the impact of the Middle East conflict on right-wing extremist agitation was fairly limited and decreased quickly. In spite of that, antisemitism in all its forms has always been a key and constant characteristic of right-wing extremism, existing regardless of external developments. Without doubt, foreign extremist actors use the crisis in the Middle East to propagate hatred of Israel and antisemitism in this context. Time and again, statements to that effect have been made at events during which emotions have run high. Often, so-called “criticism of Israel,” which — when looked at more closely — turns out to be thinly veiled antisemitic hatred of Jews, is the linking element between actors from various spectrums with quite different motives; for example, between German and Turkish leftwing extremists as well as actors belonging to secular extremist Palestinian organizations. To sum up, it can be said that antisemitism is currently present and active in all forms of extremism. One year after the Hamas attack, protests have decreased considerably, but we have observed that individuals display an increasing readiness to use violence. The Hydra of Islamist Terrorism The idea of readiness to use violence brings us to the field of jihadism and Islamist terrorism. In Germany, too, we have seen that since October 7, 2023, in the entire Islamist extremist spectrum, criticism of Israel’s actions has been mixed with antisemitic stereotypes to create a common frame of reference and to clearly lay the blame at Israel’s door. At demonstrations, there have repeatedly been antisemitic agitation and chants such as “Death to the Jews!” — a phrase that is disdainful anyway and that is unbearable to hear, especially on German streets! Even groups which previously had no political agenda relating to the Middle East conflict have now discovered its considerable potential to stir up emotions and polarize and radicalize, so far, more moderate groups of their milieu. Moreover, international jihadist organizations — such as al-Qaeda and the so-called Islamic State (IS) — have increasingly called for attacks worldwide. In the German-
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